Mar del Plata 2012 : A cooling down

7th Continental Chess Tournament / Mar del Plata 2012 Tourney type: Eleven-round swiss open Time control: 90 minutes for 40 moves followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game and a 30 second increment as of move one. Location: Mar del Plata, Argentina Dates: October 12-21, 2012 Prizes: 1st - US$5000, 2nd - US$3400, 3rd - US$2400, 20 prizes in all, not including prizes per category. Special: Event is considered a world championship qualifier thus all norms earned are worth double.

Mar del Plata 2012 : A cooling down

Report and pictures by Albert Silver

A group picture of the arbiters who have done an outstanding job. Watching them, one
notices they are not content to just be quick and efficient, they handle the crowd of
children, noisy fans, and disgruntled losers with good cheer, patience and understanding.

The fifth round at the 7th Continental marked a cooling down on all levels. On the one hand, the thermometer took a dive and everyone was greeted by heavy mists, and wet air. To call it humid would be too light a term since the minute one went outside, there was a sensation of wetness just one notch short of a drizzle. This added to the feeling of cold, but even so, as it was not outright raining, the locals and many visitors had no qualms on going out for a stroll.

Peruvian GM Julio Grand Zuniga has been a domineering force in South America for many years

As to the tournament, going into the round, seventeen players had been on a similar hot streak, sharing a strong 3.5/4, but by the end of the day only four stood at 4.5/5, with a giant pack of nineteen at 4.0/5. Still, with eleven rounds in all, anything goes. Edging out the leaders on tiebreak is top South American player, the brilliant Peruvian GM Julio Grand Zuniga, followed by the 23-year-old Venezuelan GM Eduardo Iturrizaga, top-seed Cuban GM Lazaro Bruzon Batista, and local hero of the moment: Argentine GM Diego Valerga.

A scene that typifies chess players

FM Haroldo Cunha dos Santos

Annotated game by GM Sergio Slipak

Once the games are over, the players head to the analysis area

The prizes

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Event partners

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